themountaingoatsfandomcom-20200214-history
Night Light
Night Light is the seventh song on the album Transcendental Youth. A demo of the song was posted on Merge Records's SoundCloud in 2012. Lyrics Pull my mask so tight Til it pinches my skin Nerves strung so high I am a mandolin Jenny calls from Montana She's only passing through Probably never see her again in this life I guess Not sure what I'm gonna do Plug a night light in Leave the porch light on Because the small dark corners have designs on me Live like an outlaw Clutching gold coins in his claw Room full of ambitious young policemen Everybody trying to make his mark I was a red dot blinking on a screen up overhead And then the room went dark Dream of maybe waking up someday And wanting you less than I do This is a dream though It's never gonna come true Plug a night light in Leave the porch light on Because the small dark corners are establishing a colony Live like an outlaw Clutching gold coins in his claw Can't ever set aside the sweetness Of the days before the crews put up the border Fields full of wet rain Cling tight to their memory forever Think about Montana when I close my eyes Possibly Jenny's headed east Count a couple of stray hopes out loud May their numbers one day be increased Plug a night light in Leave the porch light on Because the small dark corners breathe like heavy animals Live like an outlaw Clutching gold coins in his claw Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"Jenny's one of those disruptive characters, really through no fault of her own. I hadn't planned on her reappearing but once I had an idea for the song's sound, I just tried barking out some random lyrics, which is how I usually start until I get to a chorus and just go from there. So I'm barking this stuff and there she was again and I was just, ‘Well, I'll be goddamned.'" -- Mountain Goats' John Darnielle Discusses the 'Satan Record' (Rolling Stone) *"This song is about the sort of paranoid state you get into if you sit around contemplating the wrong thing for too long, which is sort of how I came to look at my own past, like, you have to be a careful steward of your brain and your thoughts, because no one else can help you out with them." -- 2012-06-27 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA *"It's about the last nagging bit of a memory you can't seem to erase, that just sort of sits there, like a, like a, like, if you had a chalkboard and you -- and there was one piece of chalk they didn't warn you wouldn't erase. And you only used it briefly once, because it felt different when you wrote on the chalkboard, so you stopped, but by then you had already written. And that mark will not go away. And that's what the song is about." -- 2018-04-21 - Upstate Concert Hall - Clifton Park, NY *Also see comment under Jenny Things Referenced in this Song *The character Jenny, who previously appeared in the songs "Jenny" and "Straight Six", is mentioned. Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2012-01-19 - Antone's - Austin, TX *2012-03-24 - Merkin Concert Hall - New York, NY *2012-04-02 - The Barbican - London, England *2012-04-21 - The Gargoyle - St. Louis, MO *2012-05-08 - The Clarendon - Katoomba, Australia *2012-05-09 - The Toff in Town - Melbourne, Australia *2012-06-23 - Columbia City Theater - Seattle, WA *2012-06-27 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA *2012-06-30 - McCabe's Guitar Shop - Santa Monica, CA *2012-07-01 - McCabe's Guitar Shop - Santa Monica, CA *2012-07-03 - Folk Music Center - Claremont, CA *2012-10-22 - Fine Arts Center - Calvin College - Grand Rapids, MI *2012-10-23 - Pabst Theatre - Milwaukee, WI *2014-05-02 - Kresge Recital Hall - Knox College - Galesburg, IL *2017-06-21 - Welcome to Night Vale Birthday Party - The Bell House - New York, NY *2017-07-09 - The Castle - Bloomington, IL *2017-11-10 - White Eagle Hall - Jersey City, NJ *2017-11-11 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA *2017-11-15 - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, OH *2017-12-02 - Mr. Small's - Millvale, PA *2017-12-14 - Holocene - Portland, OR *2018-02-26 - University of South Alabama - Mobile, AL *2018-04-12 - The Woodward Theater - Cincinnati, OH *2018-04-13 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH *2018-04-14 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, Ontario *2018-04-18 - Higher Ground Ballroom - South Burlington, VT *2018-04-20 - Asbury Hall - Buffalo, NY *2018-04-21 - Upstate Concert Hall - Clifton Park, NY *2018-04-22 - Ardmore Music Hall - Ardmore, PA *2019-11-24 - Lisboa ao Vivo - Lisbon, Portugal Videos of this Song *2012-03-24 - Merkin Concert Hall - New York, NY *2012-06-23 - Columbia City Theater - Seattle, WA *2012-10-22 - Fine Arts Center - Calvin College - Grand Rapids, MI *2014-05-02 - Kresge Recital Hall - Knox College - Galesburg, IL Category:Transcendental Youth songs Category:Video